Problem spray painting water based paint

I have been trying to spray paint using a water based paint, but I have been having the following problems;1) The fluid flow has been "Pulsing" even when I put nothing but water in the gun.2) When I spray it has this "pulsing" effect and sprays intermittently.Occasionally the flow of fluid stops, but after a shake or fiddle it starts again.I have cleaned the gun several times, checked for blockages and even tried using turps in the gun with the same effects as above.The gun has a 1.5 nozzle and I have adjusted fluid flow, air flow and even the airpressure from 30psi through to 80 psi without any noticable effect. I have used the paint in virgin state and thinned it down by up to 20 percent. It does spray more paint at 80 psi than 30, but that is to be expected.Am I doing something wrong or is there something wrong with my gun.It is a standard gun, not gravity fed, and was given to me some time ago. I dont know any details othervthan its a wagner.

1 Answer

I spoke to a friend who was a spraypainter in his last job, apparently due to the thickness of the paint, I needed a larger nozzle on the gun. I couldnt get a nozzle to suit this gun so I purchased another gun with a cuple of different size nozzles. All seems to be working fine now.

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Sure, why not?. I've sprayed kitchen cabinets in my driveway, dining room chairs (metal, with auto paint) on my patio, wood paneling and more.
I would suggest using drop cloths or plastic to cover whatever you're not spraying, as spray will spread, especially if you use a water-based paint.

Try running it with "cleaner" first. In the case of Latex paint, use water. In the case of oil based paint, use Mineral Spirits. Make sure tip is clean (without sticking anything into it). Lastly (or "firstly") read the manual for info on initial setup.

How does it spray if you dump the paint out and put paint thinner in the cup? If it sprays paint thinnner, but not the paint, your paint is too thick. Thin it down by 25% and try a little. Keep adding thinner until the paint sprays out of the gun in an acceptable manner. Your gun probably has a 1.1,or 1.4 fluid tip. this is for spraying lacquers or automotive paints that are very thin. to spray oil based paint, your would need a 2.0 or 2.5 or bigger. not really what this gun was made to spray.

water base paints are out there but as far i know i think you should error on the safe side and use a resporator with most all paints........ as far as i know they havent fully improved waterbase paints to the point that they hold up on metal correct me if i am wrong when the car companys use them for all cars then i will! ( base coat clear coat is the best so long as you follow the mixtures as directed on the cans ( call some paint suppliers , savage dupont ect they can guide you on most types of paints)

first problem is the waterbase paints ( ****) the other is how did you mix your paint , you cam trap air in the paint if you padle or stired it without a shaker mixer air will gas out of the paint, tofix this use a foam brush to flaten air bubbles

Be sure to filter the paint you are trying to use so that you aren't dealing with large lumps of paint. You will need to experiment with hose pressure to get proper spray quality, and set the mixture control for a fairly fine mist as the paint is likely to be more fluid. Fan control is set so that you don't get an unpainted space in the middle of the paint swath. Make sure to wash the gun thoroughly after painting. If you are doing a lot of painting, expect some nozzle wear over time as the water base paint is somewhat gritty. Don't forget to trigger 'off' before the end of each stroke and trigger 'on' after starting the return stroke to keep running at a minimum. Good luck!

i dont have so much as a solution as a couple of things you can try to figure out whats going wrong.

make sure your compressor can handle 10.5 CFM @ 50psi
hook up the gun and dry spray it to check for blockages in the air supply
if the air comes through strong and constant, fill the paint hopper with water and spray until empty
if the water comes through constant, add half of the hopper with paint thinned with penetrol or floetrol
if the paint is coming out weak or spotty, make sure the vent cap is open on the paint hopper
if the cap on the hopper doesnt have a vent, try spraying with the cap off or cracked a bit.
if that doesnt work take off the hopper and check the filter for blockages.